Are you showing people the finish line and potentially scaring off the customers who could hire you? A new study on "fitspiration" content says showing the after photo can actually push people away, because it reminds them how far they are from where they want to be.

Today on Businessing, Pat unpacks a counterintuitive social media insight every owner needs to hear, then welcomes Tayler Cusick Hollman of Enji.co onto the Idea Slam to work through Enji.co's repositioning and the hunt for the user "aha moment" inside onboarding. Plus the latest AI market share numbers, a tweet that lands straight on Pillar 1 of the Fridays Off framework, and what's coming up in the SBOC for June.

In this episode:00:00 - Welcome and the three Fridays Off problems04:00 - The "after photo" trap: why your inspiration posts may be backfiring11:00 - It's always okay to ask for help. Build the relationships you'd actually call16:30 - Money Masters Bookkeeping18:30 - Idea Slam with Tayler Cusick Hollman of Enji.co42:00 - The AI scoreboard: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot44:30 - G2 Insurance47:00 - Tweet of the Day: are the people around you helping you grow?49:30 - SBOC update: Coffee Club, sixth birthday, weekly self-promo, design hierarchy52:30 - Fridays off and Monday's birthday party

Resources mentioned:- Enji.co (Tayler Cusick Hollman, co-founder)- Money Masters Bookkeeping: https://moneymasters4biz.com- G2 Insurance: https://g2insuranceservices.com- Theresa Wilmot, graphic designer (teaching design hierarchy in the SBOC)- SBOC26 Conference, September 15-17, Brookfield Sheraton

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #Marketing #SocialMedia #IdeaSlam

In an algorithmic, AI-powered, synthetic world, the people willing to share what made them who they are have the advantage. That's the operator-to-icon trade Matt Stone walked us through, and it's the kind of conversation that changes how you show up.

Today's big show. Matt Stone from The Bigger Stage explains the journey from competent operator to industry authority to icon, and why vulnerability (not polish) is the gateway. Then Jim Carlin from Systems Equal Freedom joins the Idea Slam to wrestle with whether being "the SOP guy" sells him short, and the answer lands. SOPs are a communication tool, and time compounds. Plus the AI story of the day on Google's overhauled search, the news on the Iran deal, NASA's moon base contracts, and the tweet that asks the real question. If social media isn't social anymore, what is it?

In this episode:

00:00 - Fridays Off framework: Freedom, Funding, Finish04:00 - Matt Stone on Operator to Authority to Icon30:00 - Money Masters Bookkeeping sponsor break32:00 - News: Iran deal, NASA moon base contracts34:00 - AI story of the day: Google's search overhaul37:00 - Idea Slam with Jim Carlin (Systems Equal Freedom)55:00 - G2 Insurance sponsor break56:00 - Tweet of the day: Social media isn't social anymore1:00:00 - SBOC community update: 6-year anniversary, 192 members1:02:00 - Close

Resources mentioned:

Matt Stone, The Bigger Stage: https://thebiggerstage.comThe Bigger Stage assessment: https://thebiggerstage.com/assessmentJim Carlin, Systems Equal Freedom: https://systemsequalfreedom.comMoney Masters Bookkeeping: https://moneymastersforbiz.comG2 Insurance Services: https://g2insuranceservices.com

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #PersonalBrand #SOPs #AIForSmallBusiness

Look at your to-do list. Cross something off, name one piece of sales activity for the day, and underline the one thing that has to get finished. Free, fund, finish. That's the daily reset.

Tuesday's show pulls a new opener out of the Fridays Off theory and runs it. Then we get into pay-what-you-want pricing (yes, the Radiohead model, this time at an Italian restaurant in Austin), an Idea Slam with Ann Gusiff on how to sell trust trailers when you have six niches and need to pick one, an AI gadget that claims it'll let you talk to your dog, and a Russell Brunson tweet that names the real fear most owners are carrying.

The Idea Slam is the heart of the show. Real owners. Real problems. The room makes it great together. Live. No net.

In this episode:

00:00 — Free, Fund, Finish: the daily reset

06:00 — News: Iran ceasefire framework

08:00 — Pay what you want pricing (Austin restaurant meets Radiohead)

13:00 — Money Masters Bookkeeping

15:00 — Idea Slam with Ann Gusiff: selling trust trailers

35:00 — AI story of the day: PettiChat claims you can talk to your dog

39:00 — G2 Insurance

41:00 — Tweet of the day: Russell Brunson on being seen failing

42:00 — SBOC update + four new members

45:00 — Close + Idea Slam sign-up

Resources mentioned:

- Ann Gusiff, Pro Video Pages (trust trailers for service providers)

- Money Masters Bookkeeping: https://moneymasters4biz.com

- G2 Insurance: https://g2insuranceservices.com (262-784-0644)

- Radiohead, In Rainbows (2007)

- Russell Brunson on X

- PettiChat (pre-production AI pet translator)

- Come on the show: https://event.smallbusinesscommunity.com/idea-slam-pat-miller

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #PayWhatYouWant #VideoMarketing #FridaysOff

You may call it creative hours, but the headline isn't your process. It's quit spending so much time in Canva. People don't buy the work you're proud of. They buy the result they want.

This episode is built around a live Idea Slam with brand designer Teresa Wilmot, who couldn't figure out why her $47-a-month membership wasn't selling. The answer turned into a coaching session anyone who sells a service needs to hear. Pat walks through why you have to sell the outcome instead of the process, why pricing problems are often value-communication problems, and why people-pleasing quietly keeps you from charging what you're worth. He also breaks down a big shift in Google search that's tanking website traffic, and what AEO and GEO mean for getting found now that AI answers come first. If you're a business owner doing your own marketing and wondering why the message isn't landing, this one is for you.

In this episode:

00:00 - Cold open and intro

03:05 - Welcome and the Idea Slam marathon kicks off

04:24 - Get ready to business: positivity, gratitude, and your one thing

10:39 - News you need: variable rate loans and rising interest rates

11:43 - 21 valedictorians and what an A-plus really earns

14:55 - Sponsor: Money Masters Bookkeeping

17:13 - Idea Slam with Teresa Wilmot: selling a membership nobody understands

23:09 - The cookie analogy: sell the result, not the recipe

27:55 - Why pricing is really a value and people-pleasing problem

34:36 - AI story: Google I/O, Gemini Spark, and the search change tanking traffic

41:33 - Tweet of the day

42:49 - What's happening in the SBOC

45:16 - Final thoughts and weekend send-off

Resources mentioned:

- Teresa Wilmot, brand designer, host of the DIY (Design It Yourself) course and Creative Hours membership

- Google I/O and Gemini Spark

- Money Masters Bookkeeping (show and conference sponsor)

- G2 Insurance, Brookfield (show and conference sponsor), g2insuranceservices.com

- Small Business Owners Community (SBOC)

Presented by

Money Masters Bookkeeping - https://www.moneymasters4biz.com

G2 Insurance - https://www.g2insuranceservices.com

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #SellTheResult #PricingStrategy #IdeaSlam

Half of the people polled said they'd rather give their money to brands that avoid AI. Stop the freaking presses...that's a market opportunity hiding in plain sight, and if you make something by hand, it belongs on the front page of your website.

Today's show is for business owners who want practical answers, not theory. Tanya Murphy from Cruise Planners drops five money tips for handling cash abroad so you stop leaking dollars on every transaction. We unpack a new study showing 50% of consumers would rather buy from brands that don't use AI, and we work through six cheap, easy fixes for working from a house where nobody respects your office. Plus the OpenAI lawsuit gets tossed, GLP-1s keep racking up surprise benefits, and a cul-de-sac in Atlanta fills up with Waymos for no good reason. With Memorial Day on Monday, you've basically got until Wednesday close of business to get anything done this week...let's use the time.

In this episode:

00:00 - Show open and what's on today

05:21 - Positivity, gratitude, and the number one task

09:10 - Tanya Murphy: 5 money tips for handling cash abroad

23:30 - News: OpenAI lawsuit tossed, GLP-1 mental health benefits, Waymo cul-de-sac

32:06 - AI Story of the Day: 50% of consumers want AI-free brands

36:02 - Idea Slam: 6 ways to work from home when there's no door

41:33 - SBOC community update, conference, and Memorial Day game plan

Resources mentioned:

- Tanya Murphy, Cruise Planners: https://tripsalive.com

- Money Masters Bookkeeping: https://moneymasters4biz.com

- G2 Insurance Services: https://g2insuranceservices.com

- SBOC Conference, September 15-17, Milwaukee area

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #AIForSmallBusiness #WorkFromHome #TravelTips

Six thousand CEOs were just surveyed, and 90% of them said AI has had zero impact on productivity. I'll tell you right now, Claude has changed my life and changed my business. Here's why owners are winning the AI race while corporations slow-walk it.

Today on Businessing, I'm back from three days off feeling like I've been shot out of a cannon. I went to the Claude Small Business meetup in Chicago, survived standing on stage in front of a hundred Claude users, and came home convinced that small business owners are getting the AI benefit faster than anybody. We also tackle a tough Idea Slam question: your biggest client is shopping around for your replacement while you're still working together. Do you confront them? No. You replace them first. And as always, we cover the news you need to sound like the most informed person in the room.

In this episode:

00:00 — Welcome and three-step Monday kickoff

06:00 — Positivity, gratitude, and the distraction of the day

14:00 — News: Musk vs OpenAI, the fighter plane crash, and your brain on exercise

24:00 — Money Masters Bookkeeping with Barbara Fausett

27:00 — Why 90% of CEOs say AI isn't working (and why they're wrong)

33:00 — My weekend with Claude in Chicago

42:00 — G2 Insurance with Tom

45:00 — Idea Slam: my biggest client is shopping for my replacement

50:00 — What's happening inside the SBOC right now

53:00 — Tomorrow's show: Tanya Murphy and our first live Idea Slam in a long time

Resources mentioned:

- Money Masters Bookkeeping (Barbara Fausett): https://moneymasters4biz.com

- G2 Insurance (Tom): https://g2insuranceservices.com or 262-784-0644

- Claude for Small Business: search "Small Business" in the Claude Plugins menu

- The Solow paradox (the productivity puzzle that's back in the news)

- Goldman Sachs cut its US productivity growth forecast from 2.5% to 1.8%

- Get your business on the national map: https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #AIForSmallBusiness #ClaudeAI #IdeaSlam

Claude just dropped Claude for Small Business...native connectors to QuickBooks, PayPal, HubSpot, Canva, DocuSign, Google Workspace, and a stack of other tools you're already paying for. Translation: you can stop hunting and pecking through QuickBooks and just ask, "Hey, did that client pay?"

Pat unpacks what the announcement actually means for owners before driving down to Chicago to meet the Claude team in person. Plus a serious moment about entrepreneur mental health, the next wave of AI security risks coming for all of us, and an Idea Slam question you're going to face soon...a client just asked for a discount because you use AI. Pat's answer might change how you talk to every client going forward. Solving small business problems so you can be more profitable, with less stress, and run a modern small business.

In this episode: 00:00 — Welcome and the Chicago road trip ahead 01:00 — Positivity and Gratitude (owner energy vs. operator energy) 04:00 — Distraction of the Day and your number one task 06:00 — Trump in China with the tech CEOs 07:30 — World Cup final halftime show...Madonna, Shakira, BTS 09:00 — A serious talk about entrepreneur mental health 13:00 — AI Story of the Day: Claude for Small Business drops 17:00 — AI Story #2: The coming vulnerability storm 19:00 — Sponsor: Money Masters Bookkeeping with Barbara Fausett 21:00 — Idea Slam: My client wants a discount because I use AI 26:00 — Sponsor: Crown Room Live with Elzie Flenard 27:30 — SBOC Conference update (VIP tickets going fast) 29:00 — New idea: The Idea Slam-a-thon Resources mentioned: - Claude for Small Business (Anthropic announcement) -

Money Masters Bookkeeping with Barbara Fausett: https://moneymasters4biz.com -

Crown Room Live with Elzie Flenard: https://crownroomlive.com -

The Daily Crown (7-day free trial): https://joindailycrown.com -

SBOC Conference, September 15-17 in Milwaukee - Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First (Conference keynote) - live.smallbusinesscommunity.com (check in during the show)

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1 '

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #ClaudeForSmallBusiness #AIForSmallBusiness #IdeaSlam

No one's coming to save you. That's a bad thing. But no one's coming to stop you either, and that's a great thing.

Wednesday's show is built around the most overlooked profit lever in your business: your P&L. Barbara Fausett from Money Masters Bookkeeping sits down with Pat to break down the five sections of a profit and loss statement, why most owners only read two of them, and what kind of decisions become obvious once you read all five. Plus: five ways to give yourself a raise this week, an AI story that should change how you think about hiring in your business, and an Idea Slam answer that fixes the "I can't describe what I do in one sentence" problem.

In this episode:

00:00 — Show open, sponsors, check-ins

02:30 — Positivity: SBOC 26 tickets are LIVE

04:00 — Gratitude: 5 ways to give yourself a raise

09:00 — Distraction of the day: performative "bettering"

11:00 — Barbara Fausett on the 5 parts of your P&L

23:00 — News: CPI hits 3.8% (hottest since May 2023)

24:30 — Stuff you should know: your brain works under anesthesia

27:00 — AI story: 76% of companies now have a Chief AI Officer

31:00 — Sponsor spotlight: Crown Room Live with Elzie Flenard

32:30 — Idea Slam: nobody cares about your how

36:00 — SBOC 26 Conference tickets on sale

Resources mentioned:

- Money Masters Bookkeeping — https://moneymasters4biz.com

- Crown Room Live with Elzie Flenard — https://crownroomlive.com

- SBOC 26 Conference (September 15-17, Brookfield, WI, with keynote Mike Michalowicz) — https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

- Live check-in for the show — https://live.smallbusinesscommunity.com

🎙️ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PatMillerFridaysOff?sub_confirmation=1

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/businessing-with-pat-miller/id1870663109

🌐 Listen anywhere: https://businessing.captivate.fm/listen

📬 Fridays Off Newsletter: https://fridaysoffnewsletter.com

👥 Small Business Owners Community: https://smallbusinesscommunity.com

#SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #PatMiller #ProfitAndLoss #Bookkeeping #SmallBusinessFinance